CQ Risk Rating: Safe Democrat 
| GENERAL ELECTION: NOVEMBER 7, 2000 |
|
| David R. Obey (D) | 173,007 | 63% |
| Sean Cronin (R) | 100,264 | 37% |
| write-ins | 189 | 0% |
| PRIMARY ELECTION: SEPTEMBER 12, 2000 |
|
| | Votes | Percentage | | Constitution |
| write-ins | 3 | 100% |
| | Democratic |
| David R. Obey | 29,099 | 100% |
| write-ins | 42 | 0% |
| | Republican |
| Sean Cronin | 15,948 | 100% |
| write-ins | 38 | 0% |
| | Wisconsin Greens |
| write-in | 1 | 100% |
Source: Congressional Quarterly. To suggest updates and corrections: politics.feedback@cq.com
Major Industry | Population | Cities | People | Race | Median Household Income | Unusual Features
WISCONSIN 7
:
Northwest - Wausau; Superior; Stevens Point
Encompassing more than one-fourth of the state, the 7th is the most
rural district in Wisconsin. Small towns and villages, not farms, dominate
the district's northern counties, where the weather makes the growing season
30 days shorter than at the Illinois border. Hundreds of lakes in the north
create a tranquil lifestyle that draws more senior citizens than any other
region in the state.
In the south, nutrient rich soil engenders ideal farming, although the
once-dominant dairy industry has declined since the 1980s. Smaller farms,
which once thrived there, are shutting down, causing farmers to sell their
land to large farms or developers building suburban homes. But cities along
the Wisconsin River have enjoyed a small boom in recent years from paper
production and some service industries.
While the same Democrat has held the 7th's congressional seat for 30
years, without strong Democratic candidates at the top of the district's
ticket, some observers think the region could lean Republican. Democrats
lure strong support from the blue-collar centers of Wausau and Stevens Point
in the mostly Polish south, and in Superior to the north. But the mostly
Scandinavian descendants of the rural north who lean Republican, and the
more recently vocal Christian Right, make some areas of the district more
competitive.
Major Industry
Paper, manufacturing, dairy farming
Population
543,569 (1990)
Cities
Wausau, 36,809; Superior, 27,396; Stevens Point, 22,774 (1996)
People
59% rural; 15% age 65+ (ranks first of nine in state; top third nationally);
62% married couples, 29% married couples with children; 13% college educated
(ranks ninth of nine in state; bottom third nationally); 46% white collar
(ranks eighth of nine in state; bottom third nationally), 32% blue collar
(ranks third of nine in state; top third nationally) (1990)
Race
97% white, 0% black, 1% Asian; 0% Hispanic origin (1990)
Median Household Income
$25,277 (ranks ninth of nine in state; bottom third nationally) (1990)
Unusual Features
Marathon County is the nation's largest producer of ginseng; Poniatowski is
exact center of the northern half of the western hemisphere; Colby cheese
named after a district town; Hayward is home to the National Fresh Water
Fishing Hall of Fame.
Source: Congressional Quarterly (Updated April 1999)
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District 7
